Analysts are forecasting that this weekend will be the highest-grossing weekend of the year, thanks to the openings of Warner Bros.' "Barbie" and Universal's "Oppenheimer". The live action Barbie movie directed by Greta Gerwig is based on the iconic Mattel (MAT) -) doll and is expected to lead the way at theaters.
Meanwhile, homes are less affordable than ever in the U.S. -- real estate and house hunting can be a nightmare for the average American worker.
So TheStreet video team did the math to explore which of Barbie’s dozens of careers over the years would allow her to afford living in the luxurious Barbie Dreamhouse. Watch the video below and subscribe to TheStreet's YouTube channel.
Video Transcript
This is the Barbie Dreamhouse. The one that Mattel has for sale based on it - boasts 10 play areas. Which for the purposes of this video, we will assume are mostly rooms, this elevator, and the yard. That makes it 8 rooms - which is fairly typical for a medium-sized U.S. home. The average house in the U.S. sold for $516,000 in the first quarter of 2023. This is very dependent on where it’s located. If you break the U.S. into four regions, it can look wildly different. We’re going to use that $516,000 average.
To help us uncover the economics of everything, which of Barbie’s careers would mean she could afford to live in the Dreamhouse? Experts largely agree that your mortgage rate should not be more than 28% of your gross income. In order to purchase a home you must put at least 3% down, though it is usually advised to do more. The range goes as high as 20%. So, we’ll assume Barbie had a windfall or is amazing at saving and put down the optimal amount. That means $103,200. We’re also going to assume Barbie has fantastic credit and got a 30 year mortgage with a 2.8% APR. And we’re going to ignore property taxes, insurance, and HOA fees. That makes Barbie’s monthly mortgage $2,125.17 or $25,502.04 a year. If we want to stick to that 28% mortgage rate, Barbie needs to make at least $91,078 per year.
Barbie has had hundreds of careers, but let’s go through a few and see if they can live in the dreamhouse. There are a whole bunch of actor Barbies. Superstar Barbie, Silver Screen Barbie, Hollywood Barbie. The median salary for an actor in the US is $45,760. So no actor, Barbie can't afford to live here. There's also a ton of chef Barbies. The average salary for a chef or head cook is $60,210. Barbie chef is gonna have to live someplace else. Of course, Barbie has also been a teacher, the median salary of high school teachers, $61,820. Nope. Okay, Barbie has been in medicine too. A dentist, doctor, nurse, and surgeon. Finally, now we're talking except nursing of course. Barbie has dabbled in public service, most of which are a no as far as affording the Dreamhouse.
There's also been President Barbie, $400,000 annually. But that already comes with a house. Modern Barbies have been involved in stem careers, architects' median annual wage is $80,180. That's a no. Astronauts have a starting salary of $65,140. That's a no. Computer engineers’ median wage was $128,170. So that's a yes. Barbie has been a sports star too. WNBA Barbie, if she were among the highest earners in the sport averaged as $228,090 in 2022 then a yes. If Barbie were the best gymnast or tennis player in the world, she would also be able to live in the DreamHouse. And finally, Barbie has been a flight attendant, a pilot and a train conductor. These are all no.
To wrap it up, even with all the perfect conditions met, a lot of Barbies would probably have to live with dream roommates or in the dream apartment version, which is not nearly as fun, especially if you have to live with Ken. Let us know if you think we missed any of the iconic Barbie careers or if you'd like to see any other fictional worlds or characters ruined by being grounded in reality.
